“Scream VI” has quickly become the biggest-grossing installment in the now-26-year-old slasher franchise.
That the recent installment passed the $103 million unadjusted domestic gross of the first “Scream” is even more impressive when one notes that it’s the first installment without either Neve Campbell or David Arquette. The previous protagonist opted not to return this time out, reportedly due to a salary dispute, while the bumbling fan-favorite police officer was shockingly killed off in last year’s “Scream.”
While on the red carpet for “Mrs. Davis,” Arquette was asked by TheWrap about whether he had a fear of missing out while he watched the most recent, Dewey-free installment.
“I totally feared missing out. I was like, watching it all alone, but [with] an extra big tub of popcorn, lots of candy.”
As for his thoughts on the second installment directed by the Radio Silence duo, Arquette “loved it, I think they did an amazing job.” He expressed admiration for the film’s fake-out prologue, and admitted, upon being asked, that he hoped Campbell would return for a theoretical “Scream VII.”
“I definitely miss Neve being a part of it,” he said. “I’d love to see her come in and go real hardcore.”
With “Scream VI” climbing toward $165 million worldwide on a $35 million budget, an additional installment of the series, now courtesy of Paramount and Spyglass, seems inevitable. While Sidney Prescott exited “Scream” alive and well, there’s no word on what form the next chapter would take and whether that would find a way to include its former Final Girl.
As for Dewey, the series has mostly eschewed resurrecting dead characters, give-or-take Hayden Panettiere’s Kirby who took a knife to the gut in “Scream 4” yet returned in the newest installment as an FBI agent. In an era where endless franchises mean little finality even for seemingly deceased characters, one hopes that the folks currently making “Scream” movies remember that, for example, Randy’s shocking murder mid-way through “Scream 2” was impactful and effective precisely because it hurt and couldn’t be walked back.
The full video is available above.
